New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted a major relief to psephologist and Co-Director of the Centre for the Lokniti Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Sanjay Kumar, by staying FIR proceedings registered against him by Maharashtra police. The FIRs were filed following a now-deleted post by Kumar on X, which contained an erroneous analysis of the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections. The Election Commission had accused him of spreading misinformation about electoral rolls on social media.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice NV Anjaria issued the interim order on Kumar’s petition seeking quashing of the FIRs, while also issuing notice on his writ petition challenging all FIRs against him. The court directed that no coercive action should be taken against him in the meantime. Kumar’s petition contended that the FIRs were a misuse of law and an attempt to harass an academic over a bona fide error.

Earlier, on August 19, Kumar had issued an apology on X, explaining that the error occurred while comparing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, and that the tweet had been removed. In the deleted post, he had claimed a surge in voter numbers in Nashik West and Hingna assembly constituencies by 47% and 43%, respectively, while claiming a sharp decline of 38% and 36% in Ramtek and Devlali constituencies.

The controversy gained further attention after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on August 7, alleged a conspiracy by the Election Commission and BJP to manipulate votes in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency, citing Kumar’s Maharashtra data. Gandhi also claimed similar irregularities in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. The poll body, however, refuted all allegations.